The present invention relates to the field of communication devices and, more particularly, to an improved bone conduction assembly for communication headsets.
Communication headsets are becoming smaller, lightweight, and more effective than each previous generation due to technologies such as bone conduction. Bone conduction technology translates sound wave vibrations (e.g., speech) from the bone/flesh pathway. In one implementation, these headsets can have ear canal stems which are inserted into the ear canal that can detect and convey vibrations transmitted from the mouth to the ear canal. The vibrations can be conveyed to a microphone inside the stem which can translate vibrations into speech. Consequently, bone conduction headsets are specially suited to noisy environments such as metropolitan streets, tactical engagements, and highly trafficked public areas.
Bone conduction enabled headsets currently rely on sound wave transmission via one point of contact (e.g., bone conduction assembly) with the ear canal at a specific location. For example, some headsets make contact within the ear canal near the anterior surface of the canal. Often times this point of contact is optimized in shape and/or size to maximize conduction. There still exists, however, many shortcomings with this approach.
Since each individual can be physically different, ear canal shapes and sizes can vary significantly. This can result in headsets which fit some individuals extremely well and others not at all. For example, many headset owners often complain of headsets which fall out of the ear canal frequently. As such, headset owner satisfaction and user experience can vary widely.
Further, it is not uncommon for individuals to frequently adjust headset orientation/position during wearing for reasons of comfort. This can orient/re-orient the headset and consequently the ear canal stem into positions which reduce contact with the bone conduction assembly. When contact with the ear canal is lost, an included microphone fails to pick up vibrations. Hence, the microphone stops working. Less severe, yet still highly problematic, is a situation where contact is made in a less-than-optimal location of the ear canal resulting in poor microphone performance. A less-than-optimal location can include one that does not have a relatively high signal-to-noise ration of the vibrations transmitted from the mouth to the ear canal via a bone/flesh path.